Traffic signal hanger



Jan. 28, 1969 G. SIKLOS 3,424,509

TRAFFIC S IGNAL HANGER Filed Oct. 18, 1967 Sheet 1 of 2 Jan. 28, 1969 G-SIKLOS TRAFFIC SIGNAL HANGER Sheet g of 2 Filed Oct. 18, 1967 I 7 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A traffic signal hanger is provided having ahousing for removably suspending a traffic signal therebeneath. Thebottom wall of the housing has a cutout section into which an insertfits. The insert is directly connected to the traffic signal and carriesupper flange means overlying a portion of the bottom wall with a collarbelow the upper flange means received by edge walls of the cutoutsection. The collar carries means for interengaging the edge walls toprevent upward and downward movement of the insert and locking means areprovided for locking the insert in the cutout section against movementin a horizontal plane.

Background of the invention Traffic signal hangers are known in thetraffic light art for suspension from a span wire as at the middle of atralfic intersection. A trafli-c signal can be hung on a hanger housingand preferably has a disconnect means so that the signal can be easilyremoved when repairs or replacement are necessary. However, ease ofreplacement or repair of the signal in such known hangers sometimes isdiflicult, particularly in view of the fact that such replacement orrepairs must be carried out at the center of a vehicle intersection inordinary use. It is therefore desirable to have ready access to thehanger and provisions for preventing upward and downward movement of asignal attachment insert as well as side to side movement of the insertduring repair or replacement of either the hanger housing, innermembers, or the traffic signal.

Summary of the invention According to the invention, a traflic signalhanger comprises a housing defining means for entrance of an electricalconduit for interconnection with a traffic signal suspended below thehousing. The housing has a bottom wall and a removable front walladjacent the bottom wall. The bottom wall has a cutout sectionpositioned to lie substantially in a horizontal plane in the operativeposition of the hanger and opening at an edge of the bottom walladjacent the front wall with edge walls of the cutout section havingsubstantial thickness. A traflic signal hanger insert has an upperflange means overlying a portion of the bottom wall and a collar belowthe upper flange means received by the edge walls. The collar carriesmeans for interengaging with the edge walls to prevent upward anddownward movement of the insert both before final securing of the insertwith the housing and thereafter. Locking means are provided for lockingthe insert in the cutout section at least against movement in thehorizontal plane of the bottom wall.

Preferably the interengaging means comprises ridges in the collar withcorresponding grooves in the edge walls which are non-continuous aboutthe collar. Preferably the locking means comprises a flange dependingfrom the detachable front wall and adapted to be positioned against thecollar in the operative position.

Because of the particular cutout section, interengaging means andlocking means employed, the insert which is attached to the underlyinghanger can be secured in position against upward and downward movementeven during servicing of the hanger and instalation thereof UnitedStates Patent 3,424,509 Patented Jan. 28, 1969 when the front wall ismoved out of engagement with the bottom wall; Thus, the front wall canbe opened and servicing carried out without fear of displacement of theinsert as by an upwardly directed force on the underlying traflicsignal. The hanger of this invention is easily installed and used withminimized complexity and cost.

Brief description of the drawings The above and other features andadvantages of the present invention will be more readily understood fromthe following specification when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a preferred embodiment thereof;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a side plan view of an insert element thereof; and

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of said insert.

Brief description of preferred embodiments With reference now to thedrawings, the preferred embodiment of the traffic signal hanger isindicated generally at 10 in FIG. 1 and comprises a preferably onepiecemetal housing 11 having a generally oval-like shape in cross section.The housing 11 defines a chamber 12 surrounded by top wall 13 with bentover flaps 14 and 15 at either side integral with rear wall 16 andbottom wall 17 as well as side walls 18 and 19. An integral projection20 extends into the chamber 12 and is used as a mounting stud formounting an insulator block having contacts thereon to interconnectelectrical conduits such as electrical cables passing through apertures21 and 22 and from an underlying traffic signal.

A hanger aperture 23 passes through the top wall and is interconnectedwith a conventional hanger bracket to attach the housing to a span cableor other support means as at the center of a four-street intersection inaccordance with known practice. In some cases, the aperture can beeliminated and an integral hook provided on the top of the box.Preferably the point of suspension on the top wall is vertically alignedwith the center of a cutout section, best shown in FIG. 1 on the bottomwall 17, when the housing is suspended along with an underlying trafficsignal.

The front wall 24 is preferably spring biased to an opened position asshown in FIG. 1 by a coil spring 25 encircling a spindle 26 mounted onintegral fixed lugs 27 of the top wall and integral lug 28 of the frontwall to allow arcuate movement of the front wall to its opened positionas shown in FIG. 1 and to a closed position shown in FIG. 2. A flangedmeans 30 extends from the bottom of the front wall preferably at a rightangle to the plane of the front wall and acts as a locking means, aswill be later described, when the front wall is lclosed. Closing of thefront wall can be accomplished by hand as by pressing the front wallinto engagement with the edge 31 of the bottom wall. The front wall ispreferably fixed in position by means of a screw 32 having ahand-tightening knob 33 which can be used to thread the screw into areceiver thread 34 formed on an extension of the bottom wall 17.

Preferably rain protecting lips 35 and 36 extend about the front andsides respectively of the housing. Suitable gasketing means can be usedif desired to seal the openings in the housing about cable passing intothe housing in use although this may not be necessary.

The bottom wall 17 lies in a horizontal plane in use of the housing andpreferably has substantial thickness at least at portion 40 surroundingthe cutout section which is defined by parallel edge walls 41 and 42,rear edge Wall 43 and the edge walls 44 and 45 of front bosses 46 and 47which act to narrow the neck of the generally U- shaped cutout sectionas best seen in FIG. 1. The edge walls 41 and 42 meet with the rear edgewall 43 at angled corners 47 and 48 which are recessed at 49 and 50 toprovide grooves parallel to the plane of the cutout section. Grooves 49and 50 act to interengage with the collar of the insert to preventupward movement of the insert when in position as will be described.

The integral insert 51, best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, comprises agenerally planar top or flange 52 with a lower collar 53. A centralaperture 54 permits entrance of electrical conduits such as cables fromthe traflic signal. A lower ring section 55 can be attached directly tothe top of a traflic signal light housing or the like suspendedtherebeneath.

The flange 52 is preferably generally rectangular and is dimensioned tooverlie the thickened edge 40 of the bottom wall cut out section and besupported thereby against downward movement. This flange also extendsfrom the rear wall 16 to the very edge of the bottom wall adjacent theforward wall in the preferred embodiment.

The collar 53 is generally rectangular having side edges 56 and 57spaced to lie closely adjacent walls 41 and 42 with the collar beingsufliciently wide between walls 56 and 57 so that it cannot he slid ormoved out of the insert in a plane corresponding to the plane of thebottom wall due to the narrow neck portion provided by the bosses 46 and47'. The collar 53 carries four wing portions 58 two of which aredimensioned to be received within the grooves 49 and 50 as when theinsert is placed over the cutout section and moved downwardly thereinwhile being slid toward the rear wall to position the insert within thecutout portion.

As previously described, the flange 30 acts as a locking means to lockthe insert in position. Thus, when the insert is positioned as shown inFIG. 2, even if the front wall is removed when the housing is upright,it will have resistance to movement caused by a force directed upwardlythereon. However, positive locking is achieved by means of the flange30. Flange 30 comprises a wall 60 adapted to lie adjacent a forward wall61 of the collar when the cover is closed with edge nibs 62 and 63having corresponding grooves firmly interengaging projections 58 andthereby positively locking the insert against all movement when thefinger gripping knob 33 is tightened.

In use, the hanger has a bracket passing through aperture 23 andvertically suspending the hanger from a span cable across anintersection. A red and green traflic light, for example, is preferablyrigidly attached to the extension portion 55 of the collar and extendsdownwardly therefrom. The traffic light can be removed from the hangerby first pivoting wall 24 to the open position and disconnectingelectrical cables passing into the hanger at the insulator blockattached to support 20. The insert 51 and trafilc light can be taken outwhereupon a new insert tralfic light can be positioned in the cutoutportion. Servicing can be accomplished by loosening of the knob 33whereupon the front wall swings upwardly exposing the insulator block.

While a specific embodiment of this invention has been shown anddescribed, it should be understood that many modifications thereof arepossible. For example, preferably the bottom wall 40 has substantialthickness at least at its edge portion of /2 inch to provide suflicientstrength to support the weight of a trafiic signal and in addition,provide suitable space for milling of grooves such as 49 and 50.However, the thickness of the bottom wall can vary depending upon theweight to be supported and the material used. While two electricalconduit entrance ports 21 and 22 are preferably used on either side ofthe housing, this number can vary depending upon connections to be madewithin the housing. Similarly, the shape of the housing itself can varyas can the type of means for swinging away or detaching of the frontwall. A coil spring mechanism is preferred for use since it permitsaccess to the box rapidly without the operator having his hands engagedwith the cover during servicing of the box.

In view of the many modifications possible, this invention is to belimited only by the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A trafiic signal hanger comprising a housing defining means forentrance of electrical conduits for interconnection with a trafficsignal suspended from said housing,

said housing having a bottom wall and a removable front wall adjacentsaid bottom wall,

said bottom wall having a cutout section positioned to lie substantiallyin a horizontal plane and opening at an edge of said bottom walladjacent said side wall with edge walls of said section havingsubstantial thickness,

a traflic signal hanger insert having an upper flange means overlying aportion of said bottom wall and a collar below said upper flange meansreceived by said edge walls,

said collar carrying means for interengaging with said edge walls toprevent upward and downward movement of said insert,

and locking means for locking said insert in said cutout section againstmovement in said horizontal plane.

2. A traffic signal hanger in accordance with claim 1 and furthercomprising said front wall being pivotably mounted and biased to anopened position.

3. A traflic signal hanger in accordance with claim 1 and furthercomprising said interengaging means defining a plurality of ridges andsaid edge walls defining corresponding grooves for receiving saidridges.

4. A traflic signal hanger in accordance with claim 3 wherein saidcollar defines peripheral walls dimensioned to lie adjacent said edgewalls and be prevented from movement toward front of said housing byopposed bosses provided in said cutout section.

5. A traflic signal hanger in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidlocking means comprises a flange extending from said front wall andcarrying groove means for interengaging with ridges extending from saidcollar when said front wall is in a closed position.

6. A traflic signal hanger in accordance with claim 3 and furthercomprising hand screw means for locking said front wall in a closedposition.

7. A traflic signal hanger in accordance with claim 1 and furthercomprising,

said front wall being pivotably mounted and biased to an openedposition,

said interengaging means defining a plurality of ridges and said edgewalls defining corresponding grooves for receiving certain of saidridges,

said collar defining peripheral walls dimensioned to lie adjacent saidedge walls and be prevented from movement towards the front wall of saidhousing by opposed bosses provided in said cutout section to preventunwanted disengagement of said insert from said housing duringservicing,

and said locking means comprising a flange extending from said frontwall and carrying means for abutting with said collar and engagingcertain of said ridges when said front wall is in a closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,957,739 10/1960 Fisher 312223 X2,982,593 5/1961 Chambers 312--231 X 3,333,911 8/1967 Errichiello et a1.312-223 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

